The World Bank/WBI’s CBNRM Initiative

Case Received: January 23, 1998

Author: Cheickna Toure, ACODEP

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Mali is a landlocked country of the Sahel with a land area of 1,240,000 square kilometers, an estimated population of 10,000,000 and an average population growth rate of 2.6%. The country is largely rural (close to 75% of the population), with a relatively low literacy rate (36%) and an estimated school enrollment ratio of 31%.

Real per capita GDP is estimated at US $500, which makes Mali one of the world's poorest countries. Farming is the main activity, occupying some 80% of the working population and representing roughly 50% of GNP. Livestock and cotton production account for virtually all of the country's exports.

The forest sector plays a key role in the national strategy of food self-sufficiency by providing inhabitants with essential items, specifically household energy and products gathered for food, health, artisanal activities, etc. Forest products occupy an important place in the Malian economy. More than 93% of the country's household energy requirements are covered by firewood and charcoal. Wood-based energy consumption for the entire country is currently estimated at nearly 5,000,000 tons per year. Urban trade in firewood and charcoal generates a turnover in excess of CFAF 10 billion per year.

Over the last two decades, natural resources in Mali, as well as in the rest of the Sahel, have undergone severe degradation as a result of the combined effects of drought and increasing human and animal pressure on ecosystems.

Although this phenomenon is difficult to quantify, the National Program of Natural Resources Management has estimated the dimensions of natural resource degradation in Mali as follows:

In the 1970s, the Government of Mali, with the support of its development partners, began implementing projects and programs designed to protect the environment and improve the living conditions of inhabitants. Unfortunately, most of these actions failed to meet their stated objectives. The main explanation given is the lack of involvement of beneficiary populations in designing, implementing, monitoring and evaluating the projects.

Beginning in 1990, projects have embraced the concept of placing inhabitants at the center of the development process by promoting a participatory approach. To support this process of developing local accountability, the Government has adopted a policy of decentralization by issuing a new Code of Collectivities and by limiting its own role to such functions as guidelines, controls, arbitration and technical and financial support. Associative, cooperative and mutual organizations and other elements of civil society have thus benefited from a transfer of expertise and resources.

The activities of the ACODEP Program (ACODEP is the French acronym for Support to Decentralized Collectivities for Participatory Development) reflect this new dynamic. The experience of Simba, a village targeted by ACODEP and presented below as a case study, provides an example of local accountability and participation in managing village lands.

The ACODEP Program was launched by the Government of Mali and receives financial support from the United Nations Development Program (UNDP). The International Labor Office (ILO) provides technical and administrative support as an associate implementing agency.

The ultimate goal of the ACODEP Program is to create a situation of self-managed and self-sustaining rural development by upgrading the management capacities of farmer organizations such that they can themselves improve their prospects for production and marketing, while also protecting their environment. To achieve this goal, the Program implements complementary and integrated activities in the areas of structural organization, training and micro-development.

The immediate objectives linked to this goal are as follows:

A management structure comprising three operational units and one monitoring and evaluation unit is responsible for program implementation. Field activities are carried out through subcontracts awarded to decentralized government services, NGOs and private agencies.

ACODEP maintains a partner relationship with several organizations that provide support for grass roots development. Its main partners are the decentralized services of the National Directorate for Rural Support (DNAMR), 8 Malian NGOs, 3 foreign NGOs (SNV, AFVP, PRODILO), ACOPAM, CMDT and CESAO.

After four years of operation, the program has achieved the following results:

Real development of human resources

• 7000 newly literate individuals capable of managing micro-projects and economic activities initiated by villages

• 4000 newly literate youth (30% girls) in some 100 CEDs who are ready to take over the responsibilities of current managers of village organizations in the future

• 2500 newly literate women effectively managing resources allocated by the women's program

• 525 literacy education centers and 12 rural libraries run by male and female village extension workers and available to male and female clients who wish to educate themselves

The emergence of entities capable of meeting the basic needs of their members

• 251 farmer organizations with strong management capabilities (of the 586 farmer organizations targeted)

• 1300 managers handling the distribution of development funds (CFAF 240 million) and maintaining loan records

• 28 development plans prepared by village outreach workers; the plans serve as reference tools for village lands management

• 9 micro-dams, 14 vegetable production schemes, 4 household wells, 15 permanent training centers, 97 basic education centers to promote development, etc.

• 21 program extension units, a system where farmers assist other farmers, ensuring the sustainability of the program

Simba is a small village (population 400) located 60 kilometers from Bamako, in Koulikoro district. It is situated in the Sudanian zone, characterized by savannas containing bushes and trees and some dry deciduous forests, with average annual rainfall in excess of 1200 millimeters.

The terrain surrounding Simba is very rough, which makes access to the village difficult. There are numerous seasonal water courses.

The village lands have fallen victim to extensive logging activities and marketing of forest products. Such activities are carried out by private, urban operators from the informal sector, who recruit labor from the largely unorganized rural population.

This excessive tapping of forest resources compromises the economic activities of the village through its direct effect on primary production, as well as its indirect effect on human health and other sectors of the economy as a result of a loss of wood, reduced soil fertility, diminished arable land area due to erosion and, in the long run, the disappearance of animal and plant species.

Faced with this situation, the ACODEP Program organized and disseminated to Simba village leaders a training module on the methodology of preparing a village development plan. After a participatory assessment of village problems and needs, the community selected the construction of a reservoir as a priority action for revitalizing agro-pastoral activities and restoring the various ecosystems.

Through the participatory approach applied by the program, the objectives of micro-development were shared by the entire population. Technical studies for the reservoir were conducted by the rural engineering department of Koulikoro district, which also provided technical supervision during construction.

The facility cost the program close to CFAF 18 million. The village contribution was estimated at CFAF 3,174,000. A private firm built the reservoir.

After preliminary approval of the work in May 1997, several technical missions were organized to assist the population in developing the plain. These missions were composed of officials from UGP-ACODEP, OHVN (Opération Haute Vallée du Niger) and the former CAC (Centre d'Action Coopérative).

An intervillage organization was set up with representation from five villages located upstream from the dam. A management committee was also set up to oversee rational development of lands targeted for rice and vegetable production.

ACODEP provided 400 kilograms of rice seeds, which were distributed among 103 farmers. During the 1997 season, an area of eight hectares was cultivated. OHVN agents provided technical support to the farmers.

The total harvest came to 40 tons, i.e. nearly half of the cereal consumption requirements of the population. When millet production is factored in, the community is in a position to achieve food self-sufficiency.

Because the groundwater table has risen (from 12 to 2 meters), vegetable production is increasing. With support from OHVN, farmers are preparing plots of green beans and ginger for export. A study is now being conducted on growing tobacco for SONATAM (Société Nationale de Tabac et Allumettes du Mali).

With respect to institutional changes, the project has given a new impetus to OHVN extension activities in Simba.

Consultations with neighboring villages have been instituted to ensure that natural resources are used more rationally and to settle conflicts over village lands.

As a result of the new activities, the population is less and less inclined to exploit wood resources as a source of income. This new attitude means that the plant cover can regenerate and the various ecosystems be restored.

Most villages located in areas outside the Rural Development Districts are left to their own devices. The example of Simba shows that tremendous resources are not necessarily required to renew public confidence in the face of despair.

Fostering accountability on the part of the local population through structural organization is the most promising approach for ensuring the rational use of natural resources.

Overall, the participatory methods developed by ACODEP are producing encouraging results in the targeted communities. The program makes a significant contribution to promoting forms of self-organization and self-management that translate into local accountability and sustainable development.

The program has instituted contractual relationships at all levels, thus creating a synergy among decentralized government agencies, NGOs and private operators that can be replicated in other villages and regions of the country.